The Life Cycle of a Flavour

We’re lifting the curtain on how it is that we do what we do here at DarkStar. You all know and love our flavours, but have you ever wondered how they come into being?

Read on to discover the life of a flavour, from inception to infamy…

Stage 1: A Recipe is Born

Sometimes we start with a concept (for example, if we’re after a particular flavour profile like Biscoff Cheesecake), but more often than not, our recipes come into being from our expert mixologists playing around with recipes and concentrates. 

Some of our best and most popular flavours are created this way, and it’s definitely where we’d advise aspiring DIY’ers to start. Get creative, try out new flavour combinations - discover something new!

Stage 2: Testing Round 1

Once our mixologists have a few new recipes, they’ll mix them up and send some testers over to our flavour team to begin a review. Sometimes we have a preliminary name, but most of the time that comes later. 

The flavour team tests out the new recipes over a few days independently, before meeting to discuss together and prepare some feedback for the mixologists. 

They might think a flavour would really shine with some Koolada, or that another fruity concentrate would perfect the recipe - whatever it is, our mixologists make some changes and resubmit for testing.

Stage 3: Testing Round 2

The process repeats - the flavour team reviews the new changes and spends some time finalising the recipe. This is a chance for any final tweaks to be made before the recipe is finalised!

Stage 4: Planning the Launch

Naming a flavour is harder than it sounds! Our marketing team will come up with some ideas and names that get bounced around until we find one that fits our flavour nicely. It’s also important that they keep in mind that names often change after a Labs launch if we decide to bring back the flavour full time. 

Once we’ve got a name, we need to decide on when the flavour will be launched. New flavours always come to you by way of our Labs releases, which are often planned out in advance. 

Sometimes we’re happy for a new flavour to be launched as soon as there’s a spot for them in the Labs line-up, but there are also seasonal moments in the calendar that we want to mark! For example, there could be a more Christmassy flavour that we’ll save for December, or something light, fruity and cool that would be perfect for a midsummer launch. 

Stage 5: The Comeback

Once our flavours have been out in the world for a while, the time comes to review all of the feedback we’ve received from our Labs launches. 

If there’s a flavour you really love, the best way to ensure it comes back as a full-time flavour is to let us know how much you love it! Whether that’s via email, on our Facebook group or in the product review on our website, we’ll see it all. 

We prioritise the most popular flavours, and go from there!

Stage 6: Re-launching as a permanent product 

Once a flavour has been confirmed for a return, there’s a few things we need to do. This includes finalising the name - sometimes this needs changing or tweaking a little. We have several different ranges within DarkStar such as Vape Asylum and Cosmix, so if we’d like a flavour to join those collections then we need a name that fits the theme of the rest!

Then comes artwork - our graphic design team creates images and lettering that encapsulate the vibe of the flavour and submits that for review. We love bold colours and fun typography!

Choosing a launch day and scheduling its release is our next step, and it’s always a highlight to see how well-received our new launches are!

Stage 7: Rolled out to customers, flavour joins ranks of flavours

At this point, our new flavour is on shelves and in homes and has joined the ranks of fully-fledged DarkStar flavours!

It may gain notoriety amongst our bestsellers, become a cult classic or even get an exclusive feature as Flavour of the Month.

Stage 8: The Destiny of a Flavour

Only time can tell what will happen to each of our beloved flavours. Some age like fine wine, growing increasingly popular year after year; some flavours are eventually retired, but never forgotten; others become hidden gems - much loved by those that know them.

So there you have it! You’re now an expert on how things work here at DarkStar HQ - so keep an eye on our Labs releases and make sure to let us know what you’re loving.